Rating: 
Summary: I miss this strip so bad . .
Review: Terrific compilation of Berke Breathed's totally original comic strip which managed to comment on issues of the 80's without alienating anyone due to Breathed's wryly lovable character Opus. Breathed had a sense of humor unlike any other cartoonist - many times his humor stemmed just from the ludicrous situations his imagination devised or from the drawings themselves. I agree that the printing of this particular edition could be better, but if you're a Bloom County/Outland fan, don't let that deter you. This is an essential for the Bloom County collector.
Rating:
Summary: Another Colorful Gravestone in the Comic Page Yard
Review: The comic pages have gone to hell. While we are amused somewhat by Dilworth, we can't help but think of the grim reaper's swath through the comic pages that got rid of The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, and Bloom County.No one can really blame the writers of these 'toons to want to get out from under the choking deadlines expected of them, but because of the loss of these strips, the funny pages just aren't as funny anymore. Nevertheless, we are left with some great compilations, and this is one of the best. No one can beat the outrageous situations these characters get themselves into, and the daring in your face plots that Berke Brethed wrote: such as comparing Bill the Cat's demise to John Belushi's tragic death. Amazingly, it works. And he does it as an unabashed (and insane) gadfly in the american comic mainstream. RIP Bloom County
Rating:
Summary: Another Colorful Gravestone in the Comic Page Yard
Review: The comic pages have gone to hell. While we are amused somewhat by Dilworth, we can't help but think of the grim reaper's swath through the comic pages that got rid of The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, and Bloom County. No one can really blame the writers of these 'toons to want to get out from under the choking deadlines expected of them, but because of the loss of these strips, the funny pages just aren't as funny anymore. Nevertheless, we are left with some great compilations, and this is one of the best. No one can beat the outrageous situations these characters get themselves into, and the daring in your face plots that Berke Brethed wrote: such as comparing Bill the Cat's demise to John Belushi's tragic death. Amazingly, it works. And he does it as an unabashed (and insane) gadfly in the american comic mainstream. RIP Bloom County
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best of the Bloom County collections.
Review: This book is an overview of the first five years of the strip, ranging from the early strips in which the focus is mostly on Milo, through the introductions of Binkley, Bobbi, Cutter John, Opus, Oliver Wendell Jones, Steve Dallas, and finally, Bill The Cat. Personally, I've always had a preference for the early, pre-Bill The Cat strips; I could deal with the silliness inherent in Opus and Oliver's anthropomorphic computer, but Bill just seemed one step over the line. But I know that he's very popular, and he's here, too. There are a few strips here that were reprinted from the previous three collections, but most of this material is NOT reprints. Of course, much of the humor will be completely incomprehensible to anyone who wasn't politically aware during the '80s, but I suspect that even for such a (hopefully) young person, there's plenty here to enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: If only it were longer!
Review: This book provides a great sampler of Bloom County strips, with many of the most outstanding storylines from the early years. Unless you already own every Bloom County book, you will enjoy this.
Rating:
Summary: If only it were longer!
Review: This book provides a great sampler of Bloom County strips, with many of the most outstanding storylines from the early years. Unless you already own every Bloom County book, you will enjoy this.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthwhile Overview
Review: This book provides a worthy overview of the first five years of Breathed's Bloom County comic strip. Some of the material was previously published elsewhere, but this isn't a merely self-congradulatory coffee-table book, there's new material in here that's found nowhere else. You are able to witness Breathed's maturation as an artist and writer, most obviously pointed up in the increasing sophistication in the way he draws his characters, and in the manner in which he drifts away from aping "Doonesbury," a comic that, like Bloom County, would do well to retire while it's still worth reading. Not unimpeachable, but surely worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: The first Bloom County "big book"
Review: Unlike most "coffee-table" retrospective books, which consist mainly of collected strips already reprinted in other volumes, "Bloom County Babylon" is something more. While there are several strips here that appeared in earlier collections, over 50% of the book is material never published in book form before or since. The very earliest days of the strip (with "The Major," Milo's grandfather, as the main character) appear here, just to show you how far the strip had progressed. Also, the year 1985 is recounted, including the complete run of strips that trace Opus and Cutter John's ill-fated balloon ride to Washington, Opus's subsequent return with amnesia, and Bill the Cat being exposed as a Communist spy. The volume also includes "The Great LaRouche Toad-Frog Masacree," a great prose story ostensibly written by an adult Binkley in that "Lake Wobegon" style. All in all, this is a great book to add to your Bloom County collection, provided you can find it.
Rating:
Summary: The first Bloom County "big book"
Review: Unlike most "coffee-table" retrospective books, which consist mainly of collected strips already reprinted in other volumes, "Bloom County Babylon" is something more. While there are several strips here that appeared in earlier collections, over 50% of the book is material never published in book form before or since. The very earliest days of the strip (with "The Major," Milo's grandfather, as the main character) appear here, just to show you how far the strip had progressed. Also, the year 1985 is recounted, including the complete run of strips that trace Opus and Cutter John's ill-fated balloon ride to Washington, Opus's subsequent return with amnesia, and Bill the Cat being exposed as a Communist spy. The volume also includes "The Great LaRouche Toad-Frog Masacree," a great prose story ostensibly written by an adult Binkley in that "Lake Wobegon" style. All in all, this is a great book to add to your Bloom County collection, provided you can find it.
Rating:
Summary: Really Great Stuff!
Review: What I like most about Bloom County is that it is not Get Fuzzy. I LOATH Get Fuzzy with a passion. This is all original work and has many shots at pop culture America. I wish the Get Fuzzy Zombies (the fans of Get Fuzzy) would reread Bloom County instead, but I fear all the Zombies care about are their cats and nothing original like Bloom County!
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